Wen Ho Lee’s plea deal and the Emmy for ‘Rabbit in the Moon’

Vol. 131, No. 13, September 15, 2000. 8 pages. View this issue

Two stories shared the front page. The Associated Press reported that the release of jailed Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee was delayed again as prosecutors and his defense team worked over a plea deal. Tracy Uba reported that Emiko and Chizu Omori won an Emmy for ‘Rabbit in the Moon,’ their documentary on the World War II incarceration (often called internment). On page 8 the paper looked at how the win divided the community, and a letter on page 7 described growing sympathy for Lee.

Elsewhere, Floyd Mori wrote about visiting JACL chapters and forming new committees, and two letters on page 7 took opposite sides on putting Mike Masaoka’s creed on the National Japanese American Memorial. Martha Nakagawa covered a small business program at the Little Tokyo Service Center. Pages 3 to 6 carry news on Census 2000, the Medal of Honor tribute set for Oct. 22, Puyallup JACL scholarship winners and a Sugihara web site.

What’s in this issue

National

• Lee’s Release Delayed Again, by Associated Press, page 1. The scheduled release of jailed Los Alamos nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee was delayed as prosecutors and his defense team negotiated a plea deal. Under the described deal, Lee would plead guilty to one count of unlawfully gathering national defense information in exchange for his freedom after nine months in solitary confinement.
• World War II Asian American Veterans’ Finale Set for Oct. 22, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A grand finale tribute titled ‘Legendary Valor’ honoring World War II Asian and Pacific Island American Medal of Honor recipients will be held Oct. 22 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. All seven living Medal of Honor recipients will attend along with families of posthumous honorees, concluding a series of tributes that began at the White House in June.
• Census 2000: APIs, Hispanics Fastest Growing Minorities in the United States, by Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press, page 3. Census Bureau estimates show Asian Pacific Islanders and Hispanics are the nation’s fastest growing minority populations, with API population growing 43 percent to 10.8 million between 1990 and 1999. States like Georgia, Wisconsin, and Nevada saw particularly sharp increases driven largely by immigration and job opportunities.
• APALA Releases Voter Education Material, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance announced the release of voter education materials in several Asian languages as part of a nationwide non-partisan campaign called APALA Vote 2000. The organization has conducted voter registration drives and political education programs targeting APA community leaders ahead of the November election.
• Charges of Ethnic Slurs Fly During California State Assembly Debate, by P.C. Staff, page 3. California Assemblyman Mike Machado was accused of using racial slurs against Republican state Sen. Maurice Johannessen during a heated debate over a water control bill, allegedly telling him to ‘go back to where he came from.’ Machado also allegedly made a remark referencing Japanese American Republican candidate Dr. Alan Nakanishi’s speech, which Nakanishi said was affected by his childhood in an internment camp.
• Boxer Asks Clinton to Honor Nisei Baseball League, by P.C. Staff, page 3. U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer wrote to President Clinton urging him to invite surviving members of the Nisei Baseball League, who were barred from major league play due to their ethnicity, to the White House. The Nisei League was popular between 1920 and WWII, and 15 players were formally honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
• DHHS Issues Language Access Guidelines, by Delina Hasu Roustom, page 5. The Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued new policy guidance requiring healthcare and social service providers receiving federal funding to provide linguistic access for limited English proficiency speakers. Community advocates applauded the move, noting the risks of relying on family members as interpreters, and DHHS also announced plans to open a civil rights field office in Los Angeles.
• Commerce Secretary Mineta Certifies Japan in Whaling Violations, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Commerce Secretary Norman Mineta certified Japan for violating international whaling agreements, asking President Clinton to ban imports of Japanese fishery products in opposition to Japan’s decision to expand its research whaling program to larger whale species. The whaling commission had banned commercial whaling in the 1980s but allowed limited killing for research purposes.
• Reaction to Strip-search Exposes Division in INS, by P.C. Staff, page 8. An immigration officer who strip-searched a Chinese businesswoman at Portland International Airport said she was following procedures learned at her previous post in Honolulu, but practices for such searches vary widely across INS points of entry. Following the incident, INS re-sent body search rules to all Western ports of entry and promised a review, while Oregon senators recommended the officer’s supervisor be transferred.

Community

• California Board of Equalization Member John Chiang Clarifies Tax on Recalled Firestone Tires, by P.C. Staff, page 1. John Chiang announced that California consumers should not be charged sales tax or a tire recycling fee when receiving free replacement tires for recalled Firestone tires. Tax would only apply if consumers chose to upgrade to more expensive tires, and only on the difference in price.
• LTSC CDC Aids Small APA Businesses, by Martha Nakagawa, page 1. The Little Tokyo Service Center Community Development Corporation partnered with other Los Angeles APA agencies to form the Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program, hiring bilingual business counselor Nancy Kikuchi to assist small business owners. The program has helped restaurant owners with health code compliance and non-English speaking owners navigate government forms, and is also developing a computer kiosk project.
• Census 2000 Breakfast Held to Thank Supporters, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Asian Pacific American Legal Center, U.S. Census Bureau, and NAPALC held a recognition breakfast honoring businesses and media organizations that supported grassroots efforts to increase California’s Census 2000 participation. California’s mail-back response rate increased three percent from the 1990 Census.
• Sculpture ‘Issei’ Added to Washington’s White River Valley Museum Collection, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A life-size bronze sculpture titled ‘Issei,’ modeled after Kisa Okuna Iseri who came to the U.S. from Japan in 1907, was added to the White River Valley Museum collection in Auburn, Washington. The sculpture honors the generation of Issei women who taught their children values of community, hard work and integrity, often without the ability to read or write English or Japanese.
• Call for Papers for 2001 AAAS Conference in Toronto, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Association for Asian American Studies will hold its first conference outside the United States in Toronto from March 28 to April 1, 2001, themed ‘Boundaries of Asian American Studies.’ The conference invites proposals addressing ethnic, area, and transnational studies as well as comparative studies of Asians throughout the Americas.
• Puyallup JACL Announces Three Scholarship Winners, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Puyallup Valley JACL announced three scholarship recipients: Ryan Hiroo, Jason Kono, and Collin Matsumoto, all top academic students heading to universities this fall. All three were noted for their academic honors and active involvement in their schools and communities.
• 10th Florin JACL Women’s Day Forum Set for Sept. 30th, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Florin JACL chapter will sponsor its 10th Annual Women’s Day Forum themed ‘Celebrating the American Dream — Speaking Out With Your Vote!’ on Sept. 30 at California State University, Sacramento. The forum will feature presenters covering topics from public service and arts to elder care and civil liberties education.
• ‘Conscience and the Constitution’ to be Shown in Southern California on Sept. 23, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A documentary on the only organized Nisei resistance to the WWII draft, ‘Conscience and the Constitution,’ will screen Sept. 23 at the Laemmle Theaters in Santa Monica with a question-and-answer session featuring the filmmakers. The documentary has also been accepted into the Hawaii International Film Festival.
• Visas for Life Foundation Launches Web Site, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Visas for Life Foundation launched a website dedicated to the legacy of Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat credited with saving more than 100,000 Jewish lives during WWII by issuing visas. The site provides testimonies from visa recipients and information on related exhibits, lectures, and publications.
• Ching Becomes New LAWF President, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Deborah Ching, former executive director of the Chinatown Service Center, was named the new president of the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation, replacing a retiring predecessor. Ching brings a strong background in community leadership and nonprofit involvement, having grown the Chinatown Service Center into the largest Chinese American nonprofit service organization in Southern California.
• LTSC Computer Kiosk and DISKovery Program Take Shape, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Little Tokyo Service Center’s computer kiosk project, in development for nearly five years, received a boost when a touch-screen monitor was donated by Tsunami Cafe owner. The organization also set up the DISKovery Computer Learning Center, providing affordable computer training to local residents, largely funded by volunteer technical group TAC.
• Mori to Speak at Business Conference, by P.C. Staff, page 6. National JACL President Floyd Mori will speak at Utah’s inaugural ethnic business conference on Sept. 28 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, titled ‘The Changing Face of Utah Business.’ The conference will cover topics including business funding, government sales, international marketing, and opportunities tied to the 2002 Olympics.

Arts & Entertainment

• Omori Sisters’ ‘Rabbit in the Moon’ Wins Emmy, by Tracy Uba, page 1. Emiko and Chizu Omori became the first Japanese Americans to win an Emmy, receiving the award for Outstanding Historical Program for their documentary ‘Rabbit in the Moon’ about the internment experience. The film has also received other honors including Best Cinematography at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, though some community members felt the film was overly critical of JACL’s wartime leadership.
• Reaction to ‘Rabbit in the Moon’ Emmy Win Exposes Division in JA Community, by P.C. Staff, page 8. While many praised the Omori sisters’ Emmy-winning documentary ‘Rabbit in the Moon’ for telling an overlooked side of the internment story, some JACL veterans criticized the film as anti-JACL and unbalanced in its portrayal of the organization’s wartime leadership. Former JACL national director Karl Nobuyuki and pioneer Fred Hirasuna both expressed concerns about the film’s treatment of JACL, while Chizu Omori defended the documentary as simply presenting their research findings.

Commentary

• The Work Before Us, by Floyd Mori, page 6. National JACL President Floyd Mori describes his travels visiting JACL chapters since taking office, including meetings related to the 2002 national convention in Las Vegas and events honoring Medal of Honor recipients and Chiune Sugihara. He also details new JACL committees being formed, including a Task Force on Hate Crimes and a Committee on Aging and Retirement, and urges chapters to recruit younger members.
• CCDC Unanimously Supports NJAMF, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Central California District Council JACL board of directors sent a letter supporting the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation’s decision to include Mike Masaoka’s name and creed on the memorial. The board expressed gratitude for the Foundation’s work in bringing the Memorial to Patriotism to fruition.
• Creed Should Not Be On NJAMF Monument, by Charleston C. Wang, page 7. A letter writer argues against including Mike Masaoka’s creed on the National Japanese American Memorial, drawing on personal experience with discrimination despite wartime loyalty and citing the sacrifices of draft resisters like Gordon Hirabayashi and Fred Korematsu. The writer contends the creed does not represent the diversity of Japanese American experience and could create misconceptions among monument visitors.
• Sympathy Grows for Wen Ho Lee’s Plight, page 7. A letter writer describes an evolving perspective on the Wen Ho Lee case, from initial lack of sympathy toward the scientist accused of mishandling nuclear secrets to growing concern after learning of unfair investigative tactics and harsh confinement conditions. The writer notes Lee has never been accused of spying and argues he deserves a fair trial under American law.

Obituaries

• WRA Director, Issei Citizenship Worker: Bob Cullum, 90, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Robert M. Cullum, who worked on WWII evacuation issues at the War Relocation Authority’s New York office before transferring to Cleveland in 1944, died at age 90 with funeral services held in Albuquerque. He later served as secretary for the Committee for Equality in Naturalization advocating for Issei citizenship, and worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Oklahoma.

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